Stay With Me
by furelisejones
Summary: A novel kinda thingy comprised of multiple stories from my Warriors OC universe. Jumps between points of views and time periods, so an allegiances wouldn't really work. Working on pictures of each character.


Chapter one – Three years and ten months after the birth of Cinder and Rune

"Over here!" The calico and white she-cat turned her head to find her sister, beckoning her towards a secret entrance, leading away from camp. The chaos and screeching of fighting cats died down for a second as the she-cat stared disappointingly at her sister. "Brighteyes, we can't just flee yet. Cloudstar hasn't called retreat, yet."

"Dapplefur!" Brighteyes hissed impatiently. "Cloudstar is probably _dead_. Look!" She beckoned further towards camp, where the opposing Clans were destroying Dapplefur's home Clan. She could only see few warriors still fighting. The battle would be lost any moment.

"We...need to help them," Dapplefur insisted, her voice small. Most of her friends and family were dead before her. "What kind of warriors would we be if we ran?"

"We won't be walking with the living if we're here a moment longer!" Brighteyes insisted, slipping half of her body into the small, almost burrow-like tunnel. "Come _on_. They're gonna find us out any second!"

Dapplefur turned around to find enemy warriors looking and running in her direction. Panicked, she quickly filed in after Brighteyes. "They're on our trail. Faster!" She ordered.

They pushed harder, going as fast as they possibly could in a tunnel just barely large enough to fit them. Her bleeding shoulder wound stung as it brushed against tunnel walls. The tunnel was rough on their paws, but the roof had a constant feeling of collapse at any moment. Dapplefur swallowed her unease and perked her ears, trying to listen for pursuers, but Brighteyes heavy breathing and slight panicked footsteps threw her senses off. Dapplefur relied on sight much less than her sister did, as her eyesight always has been a bit off.

"I can see light!" Brighteyes announced. Dapplefur peered past her and saw that she was right. After a few more strides, they burst out into the open. Still, they kept running. Dapplefur was able to perk her ears and listen for enemy warriors, however the only pawsteps she could hear were hers and her Brighteyes'.

"Wait!" The two slowed to a halt on Dapplefur's order. They both sat for a few heartbeats, catching their breath. Brighteyes' breaths were heavy and slightly wheezy, but after a few deep gulps she was breathing normal. "I don't hear them. You?"

Brighteyes lifted her head sniffed the air, before shaking her head. "I think we're clear."

The two sat in relative silence. There was the distant chatter of the other Clans, _most likely bragging about their victory to each other,_ Dapplefur thought, and the sound of heavy breathing. Brighteyes bent to lick a particularly nasty scratch on her flank. Dapplefur followed and licked the bite wound on her shoulder, cleaning the dirt from it. The heaviness of their situation settled into the bottom of her stomach. "Everyone we know is dead."

"You're still here. I'm still here," Brighteyes pointed out optimistically. She walked up to Dapplefur and lied her head on top of her sister's, wrapping her tail comfortably around Dapplefur. "We still have each other."

"Cloudstar is dead. Specklespot is dead. Brighteyes, we've only just become warriors. I'm not ready to lose my parents _and_ my Clan," Dapplefur fretted, burying her head deeper into Brighteyes' soft fur. "What do we do? Where do we go?"

"That dream!" Brighteyes exclaimed, pulling away from Dapplefur, much to her dislike. "The one we both had, remember? A few nights ago. Where there were cats in this far off place, just out of StarClan's reach, remember?"

Dapplefur could still picture the setting so clear in her mind. However, just being out of StarClan's reach sounded terrifying. "What if we die?"

"Maybe, StarClan can't reach it because there are no Clan cats over there. Maybe we need to set up our own Clan?" Brighteyes suggested. _That is the most far fetched thing I've ever heard,_ Dapplefur thought to herself, nodding slowly at Brighteyes.

"Okay. But, before we get to ahead of ourselves, how do we get there?" Dapplefur asked, causing Brighteyes to look at her paws and focus. "How are we certain that there will be cats so far away from the Clans? If there are, what are the minute chances of them agreeing to start a Clan?"

"Those are all questions we can ask ourselves later!" Brighteyes insisted, snapping her head up from her paws. "I can see it. SnowClan is depending on us to lead them to a new StarClan hunting grounds!"

Dapplefur tensed at the mention of their old Clan. "You're crazy," She hissed skeptically. "Don't use the name of our Clan in vein like that ever again. Over some silly dream, at that."

"It's not a silly dream!" Brighteyes hissed back. "And I'm not using their name in vein. Would you really allow Cloudstar and Specklespot to be surrounded by the very Clans who destroyed them?"

Dapplefur's claws slid out before she knew what she was doing. "How dare-" Before she could continue, both sisters perked their ears. Quickly approaching pawsteps. When Dapplefur look back at her Brighteyes, she was already half way up the tree.

Dapplefur went to follow, but one of the enemy warriors pinned her tail, preventing her from joining her sister. Dapplefur turned to find two enemy warriors hissing and prepping for battle. She swatted at the dark warrior who had her tail, but Brighteyes launched herself from the tree before a battle could break out between Dapplefur and the warrior.

"Leave my sister alone!" She screeched, scratching the warriors' cheek, knocking him off his feet. He stumbled back next to his fellow warrior, glaring at Brighteyes. But Dapplefur couldn't hear the commotion or feel the tension in the air. The golden warrior next to the other caught her eye, and she caught his.

 _The handsome warrior from the Gathering!_ She reminded herself, holding eye contact with the tom. He stared back steadily, his posture relaxing. "Wait!" He suddenly shouted, before Brighteyes and the enemy warrior jumped back into combat. "It's two on two. We'll need to go back for backup if we want them dead for sure."

The golden warrior's obvious ploy to help the she-cats escape didn't fool the other warrior. "Then you go back for help," He ordered. "I'll keep them at bay."

The golden tom bounced on his paws nervously, looking over his shoulder. "I really don't think they're that much of a threat. I mean, two she-cats against entire Clans?"

"We were ordered to kill survivors, Goldenclaw!" The enemy warrior snapped. "We don't want them going off and finding allies."

"We're not coming back to this forest though!" Dapplefur stepped up, thinking hard on how to both impress Goldenclaw and get the warriors to leave them alone.

"Dapplefur!" Brighteyes whispered tensely. "We could take them and leave no trace of ourselves behind!"

"A-And," Dapplefur continued, ignoring her sister, once again holding eye contact with Goldenclaw. "We're going to – ah – start our own Clan. Way far out. Away from your Clans."

"That..." The other warrior started, giving Dapplefur a perplexed look. "...Is the most mouse-brained idea I've ever heard in my life."

"We'll join you!" Goldenclaw interrupted, causing Dapplefur's heart to jump. But the sudden reality hit. While Goldenclaw was handsome, Dapplefur didn't exactly trust him and his friend around her or her sister.

"Oh, that won't be-"

"I'll sooner skin both of you before letting you follow us!" Brighteyes hissed. " _SnowClan_ sent us on this quest, not just any treacherous StarClan member!"

"Very well." The dark warrior lowered his stance once again, getting ready to go back into battle.

"Stop!" Dapplefur cried, jumping in between them. Brighteyes tensed, sitting up to look at her. "We're sick of fighting. _I'm_ sick of fighting! And I'm sure by the looks of you two, you both feel the same!"

The toms both acknowledged the many scratch and bite wounds on them. The darker warrior eased his stance a bit. Goldenclaw bent to clean a paw wound with a few licks.

"We really, _really_ just want to leave," Dapplefur insisted, relief at the less tense atmosphere washing over her. "I guess you two could come along, but it'll be a dangerous journey with dubious results. Would you really leave your Clans for adventure?"

The two toms looked at each other, silently contemplating the offer. Finally, Goldenclaw stepped up. "I don't know about him, but I'd love to join you," He explained, walking over to the she-cats side. "My name is Goldenclaw."

The other warrior didn't object but didn't look to pleased either. Brighteyes glared at the dark warrior. "What about you?" She asked, with a slight threat in her voice.

"I wish no more harm among you two now that Goldenclaw is going along," He answered, his tone flat with slight disappointment. He sat, something brewing on the end of his tongue. Goldenclaw stepped up to say goodbye, but the warrior interrupted him. "But I can't let Goldenclaw go alone on a journey that could kill him. We were born together, we trained together, and I'm prepared to die with him."

"Darkfoot..." Goldenclaw mumbled, looking incredibly touched.

"We've been best friends since we were kits. No matter how much I don't like this decision, do you really think I'd just let you go like that?" Darkfoot asked.

Goldenclaw quickly got excited again. "That makes me so happy! Come on; I know a route to another forest!"

"How?" Brighteyes asked in confusion. Darkfoot nodded, confused as well.

Goldenclaw nervously looked at his paws. "I saw it in my dreams," He explained quietly. "There was this path. I only walked a little bit, and then I flew the rest of the way. So I don't know the entire way there, but I know a good starting point."

"Then lead the way," Darkfoot ordered. Brighteyes respectfully let Goldenclaw lead, but kept close to the toms to make sure they weren't leading them towards a trap.

The four began walking, starting a seemingly impossible journey. Dapplefur's loss still weighed heavy inside of her, but she held onto the ideal that there were better times beyond the horizon.


End file.
